The campus bookstore at Sacramento State buzzes with its usual first-week energy, but business major Kevin Bali has more than just textbooks on his mind. His course list includes classes like “AI Ethics and Governance” and “Strategic Decision Making with AI,” part of the university’s newly launched Artificial Intelligence Management concentration. Bali, who aims for a career in cybersecurity, sees the writing on the digital wall. “Every discussion, every debate now has someone talking about AI,” he says. “It’s going to be a huge part of everything, so learning about it now sets you up for success.”
Sacramento State’s College of Business is betting on that exact premise. In Fall 2025, it became one of the first campuses in the sprawling California State University system to roll out a formal academic track dedicated not to building AI but to managing it. This move reflects a seismic shift in how business education perceives technological change. No longer a niche technical skill, AI is now framed as a core business competency, a new utility as essential as electricity or the internet.
“AI is everywhere, and we see how much this technology is transforming everything,” explains Dr. Sadaf Ashtari, chair of the Information Systems and Business Analytics Department. “It will change healthcare, government, and every sector. So we need to prepare our business students to understand, to evaluate, and to manage it.” The program is strategically designed for the business generalist, not the computer scientist. The curriculum sidesteps complex coding and algorithm design in favor of strategy, workflow integration, and risk assessment. It asks the fundamental questions:
- What can AI actually do for an organization?
- What are its blind spots?
- How do we wield it ethically?
- What challenges arise during implementation?
- How to integrate AI into existing business models?
- What are the implications for organizational culture?
This practical focus culminates in an AI practicum, where students partner with local businesses or nonprofits to design and implement a real-world AI application. This hands-on component is critical, bridging the chasm between theoretical potential and operational reality. Students learn to navigate procurement, manage vendor relationships, oversee implementation timelines, and grapple with the procedural hiccups that never appear in a textbook. “We want to teach a student how to connect AI technology with real business problems,” Ashtari emphasizes, “and what the possibilities, limitations, and ethical concerns are.”
The urgency driving this curriculum is palpable. Business Dean Jean-Francoise Coget speaks of a revolution already in motion. “Companies are using AI in ways that will knock the socks off traditional companies,” he states bluntly. “Speed is of the essence if we want to catch the wave.” This wave is simultaneously an opportunity and a disruption. The program directly confronts the double-edged nature of AI adoption. For instance, while banks may use AI to streamline loan applications—a boon for efficiency—it could also displace the junior analyst roles that have long been an entry point for Sacramento State graduates.
This tension underscores the program’s core philosophy: management over mastery. The goal is to create graduates who are tech-fluent but not technocrats. They are being trained to be the translators, the evaluators, the ethical compasses within organizations hurtling toward automation. They need to discern when a chatbot enhances customer service and when it alienates it, or when a predictive analytics model offers a competitive edge versus when it entrenches bias.
For students like Kevin Bali, this concentration is less about becoming an AI expert and more about future-proofing his career. It’s the difference between being disrupted by technological change and steering it. As AI ceases to be a specialized tool and becomes the background infrastructure of commerce, the business leaders who thrive will be those who learned not just to use it but to govern it. Sacramento State’s program is a clear acknowledgment that the next generation of CEOs, consultants, and entrepreneurs must be as comfortable discussing algorithmic accountability as they are reading a balance sheet.
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Objective | Prepare students to manage AI technologies |
| Curriculum Focus | Strategy, workflow integration, and risk assessment |
| Hands-on Component | AI practicum with local businesses |
| Skill Development | Tech-fluency without becoming technocrats |
| Ethical Considerations | Understanding implications of AI in organizations |
| Future Goals | Equip students to lead in an AI-driven economy |
The business world is changing its operating system, and these students are learning to be its system administrators.
